Botswana Sightseeing Guide

Gaborone the capital doesn’t have a lot to offer as far as attractions are concerned but is preparatory for the exotic places you are about to visit in the country. Gaborone’s Art Galleries and Museum display historical artefacts and provide background on the immensely diverse culture of Botswana. The Gaborone Game Reserve gives you a feel of a safari and prepares you for the real adventure waiting in numerous game reserves of Botswana.

Okovango Delta, at the mouth of the River Okavango which translates into ‘river that never finds the sea’, is an amazing maze of lagoons disappearing into the channels in northwestern Botswana. 

Scenic with a phenomenal variety of wildlife, the Okavango Delta (16,000 sq km) is reputed to be the largest inland delta in the world. From Safari vans and boats you can see hippos, crocodiles, waterbucks and various species of fish.

 The Moremi Game Reserve is within the Okavango Delta where elephants, buffalo, giraffe, lion, leopard, cheetah, antelope, hyena, wild dogs and other animals abound.

Moremi has four major camping sites that are equipped with basic facilities. The roads in the sanctuary are sandy and rough so it is advisable to hire a 4WD for a tour. The Chobe National Park has one of the largest elephant populations in Africa. The natural beauty is spectacular and unspoilt. Basic camping facilities are available at Serondela and Linyati. Savuti is a temporary camping ground.

The Kalahari Desert itself is a wonderful experience with its enveloping sands to golden sand dunes, acacia to open grasslands. Take a 4WD drive and lose yourself (not literally!) in this horizonless expanse. 

The Kalahari is also home to a vast number of animals including the giraffe, gemsbok, red hartebeest, eland, kudu, springbok, lion, cheetah and wild dog.

Check out the wildlife and the beauty of the wilderness at Khutse Game Reserve and Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Khutse is 210km from Gaborone and the Central Kalahari is right next to it. There are no lodges but camping sites in the nearby areas are available for your accommodation needs. There are camping areas with basic facilities within walking distance from the entrance gates.

 The Gemsbok National Park is a trans-frontier sanctuary maintained jointly by Botswana and South Africa. Here too you can sight an amazing array of animals including predators like lion, cheetah and hyena. The Khama Rhino Sanctuary is home to the last of the rhinos in Botswana. Camping facilities can be availed of within the park.

The Tsodilo Hills are located about 300 km from Maun and is accessible only by 4WD vehicles. These hills display as many as 4000 prehistoric paintings of animals, humans and geometric designs. If archaeology interests you, there are several other sites you could visit such as Lephokole, north east of Bobonong, Vukwi Ruins, northwest of Francistown, and Tou-Ntswe-Mogala. Around Gaborone, there are several sites, such as Modipe Hill famous for prehistoric copper smelting; Matsieng’s rock engravings; Kolobeng where the famous missionary, David Livingstone stayed; Dimawe where Botswana defeated the Boers in 1854 and Magagarape, a prehistoric site dating 300 - 400 AD. The Tswapong Hills lie between Serowe and the Tuli block and is largely undiscovered by tourists. Its unique flora and fauna, especially the Cape Vultures are a major attraction.